Of Princes and Kings
by Vieux
Summary: The district lines of Tokyo are redrawn, meaning that when Ryoma moves back to Japan, he is forced to attend Hyotei Academy. Apparently calling people monkeys and skipping assemblies is not acceptable. So maybe the Hyotei tennis team does have what it needs to get into Nationals, but that doesn't mean that he belongs. And where does a primate king fit in? Hyotei!Ryoma, Royal Pair
1. Redrawing Lines, Rewriting Notes

**A/N: So I have a weird obsession with Hyotei!Ryoma and Rikkai!Ryoma… Royal is my OTP, but Rikkaidai is my favorite school so I really found it difficult to decide which one I should write first, Hyotei or Rikkai? I ended up choosing Hyotei because I've been seeing too many Rikkaidai!Ryoma fanfictions out there and we need something new :D Which is not say that I don't appreciate how much love Rikkaidai is getting, because I really love it.**

 **Anyways, this is another Royal Pair fanfiction. Enjoy~**

* * *

"Oi, Rinko, we have a serious problem!" Nanjirou hollered from his comfortable position on the living room couch. "A serious problem!"

"What?" A shrill voice called, clearly not happy at being disturbed. "And you need to start packing your stuff for Japan, or I'll burn every single one of those dirty magazines you have!"

"But honey," he whined, "Hyotei just sent me a letter!"

"Hm? Hyotei? Is that the rich academy located in Tokyo? I thought you wanted Ryoma to attend Seigaku, your old school." Rinko hung the washcloth back on its hook before entering the living room, fanning herself. "Although personally, I wouldn't mind if Ryoma attended Hyotei. It'll be good for him."

"Absolutely not, Ryoma will attend Seigaku."

"He's just as much my son as he is yours," Rinko argued.

"But he plays tennis, and my tennis is better than yours!"

"You did not just go there."

Nanjirou cowered slightly under the brunette's terrifyingly dark glare. And then, he straightened up to say, "Anyways, I guess the principal of Hyotei somehow heard we were returning to Japan and sent Ryoma an offer to admit him."

"So?"

"That's not the bad part, the school district boundaries were re-drawn last week and the old house is now not in the Seigaku school district!"

"Hm. That's too bad," Rinko commented, not sounding remotely sorrowful. "It looks like Ryoma will have to attend Hyotei Academy instead."

"He'll suffer!"

"Through suffrage, a true man will be produced," Rinko quoted from the Buddhist philosophy book she had read last week. "He might hate it at first, but it's good for him."

"…You are a terrible parent."

"Excuse me? It's just tough love."

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright son? Don't feel bad if you fail, my grades were bad when I was in school, and look at me, I'm still- "

"Shut up, not everyone is as stupid as you," Ryoma grumbled, jabbing his father with his left elbow.

"Ryoma, that's not appropriate behavior for someone dressed in a suit," Rinko scolded. "And why won't you just take that white cap of yours off? It makes you look so out of place!"

"Hai, hai," he mumbled, bored. "You guys can go now."

"Aw, look at him Rinko! Afraid we'll embarrass you, Seishounen?"

"Che, get out."

* * *

Ryoma got on the train and sat down, pulling his cap lower to hide his eyes. It was going to be a long ride. Before long, he found himself nodding off, the loud noises of the morning rush fading into a low, humming, background buzz.

"Excuse me. Hello? Excuse me." Looking up, Ryoma saw a boy dressed in a uniform identical to his tapping him on the shoulder. "Are you attending Hyotei? The school is the next stop."

"Don't you see my uniform? Of course I'm attending Hyotei," Ryoma grumbled under his breath, irritated at being woken up. However, after seeing the boy's gentle face fall slightly, he decided to make a few amends; "But thanks for waking me up."

Immediately, the silver-haired boy broke into a bright smile. "No problem. So are you new this year?"

"Hn."

"That's nice. A first year, right?"

"Hn." Ryoma was still trying to blink the sleep and drowsiness from his eyes. "And you?"

The boy looked even happier at not being the only one to speak in their rather dull conversation. "I'm a second year. You're on the tennis team right?" He glanced down pointedly at Ryoma's tennis bag.

"Hn. You?" It was falling into a pattern- Ryoma would give some noise of confirmation and then ask the other boy the exact same question he had been asked.

"Yup! All of my friends are too- "

The door dinged before opening, indicating that they had arrived. As he stepped off of the train, Ryoma couldn't help but notice that there weren't many Hyotei students who were on the train- in fact, aside from him and the other boy, there were only 2 other students. "How do people normally get to school?" He asked.

"Huh?" The boy looked slightly flustered at being the one questioned instead of the one doing the questioning. "Oh um… most of the students who attend Hyotei have drivers, chauffeurs, or even helicopters…"

"...Helicopters?"

"Ah… well, I think that's mostly just Atobe…"

This Atobe person already sounded like a rich snob to Ryoma. "Hm. He sounds like a rich snob."

The other boy's face immediately reddened. "N-no, it's not like that-"

"Whatever you say," Ryoma shrugged, not really paying attention.

"S-so, I'm Ootori Choutarou, you can… um… find me if you need anything!" a voice called from behind him.

"Echizen Ryoma. Yoroshiku."

And with that, Ryoma left Choutarou behind, speeding up his walking pace to weave between a few people in front of him.

* * *

So maybe choosing _not_ to leave Choutarou behind would have been a good idea, because it took Ryoma a total of six wrong turns, three retraces of his steps, and 35 minutes to find the school's front gate. Which meant that he was already late by twenty minutes.

The good thing about being so late, however, was that all the school grounds were completely empty, which gave him a better view of the facilities. It was obviously a school for rich snobs.

* * *

" _Hyotei? I thought we agreed that I would be going to Seigaku!"_

" _Well, uh… you're mother and I decided it would be a great opportunity!"_

"… _What the hell?"_

" _Anyways, it's happening, so just get prepared. You need to take a few tests too."_

" _It's a school for rich snobs, dad."_

" _Hey, we're not poor!"_

"… _I don't think we're that rich either."_

" _But we're not poor!"_

"…"

" _Look, you're going to Hyotei and that's that, I'm sorry for the short notice."_

 _"…Do they have a tennis team?"_

 _"Of course. It may be a formal school, but there's a tennis team alright. I hear it's competitive."_

 _"Fine."_

* * *

Ryoma wondered if there was supposed to be an opening ceremony or something of the like. Well, even if there was, it wasn't as if he would be able to find it. He might as well check out the tennis courts. Strolling around for a few minutes, he managed to find the athletics facilities, meaning that the courts were probably close.

It didn't take him long to catch sight of a dull blue fence, definitely indicating the location of the courts. _Ha. Found it._

"Huh, not bad, not bad!" He declared, glancing around at the need white rectangular lines and clean blue paint. The hard ground felt solid under his feet, and it gave him a good grip in combination with his white shoes. It would be nice playing on these courts. Stretching and yawning, he shrugged off his blazer, tossing it to the side. It landed messily draped over a pale green rod of the referee's chair. Looking around, he wondered if it would be safe to change into some more casual athletic clothes. His hand was already pulling at the hem of his shirt when he noticed the security cameras.

Ok, never mind, that idea would have to be scratched. Playing in formal wear it was.

He rotated his arm a few times before unzipping his bag and picking up his racket. Pulling out a thin tube of balls, he took one out and bounced it a few times before tossing it up into the air. Before he could hit it thought, a voice yelled at him to stop.

The ball landed cleanly in front of him as he turned around. "What?"

"I said stop. All students should be in the opening ceremony right now. The courts also shouldn't be open. Why are you here?"

"I don't know where the ceremony is being held."

"That is no excuse. I will take you there now."

 _Opening ceremony?_ Compared to arriving late in front of everyone and being forced to sit through a boring assembly, he would rather play tennis. Turning around, he simply decided to ignore the man, choosing instead to serve a rather violent twist serve into the other side of the court.

"Do not ignore me." The blonde man's voice had grown darker and more stern, but Ryoma merely yawned, picking up another ball.

Suddenly, a hand was grabbing his wrist. "For such disrespectful behavior, you, young man, will be coming with me."

This day was just full of regrets for Ryoma. So maybe if he'd known that refusing the opening ceremony escort offer would lead to sitting in the office of some man named "Sakaki", he would have taken the man up on his former proposal.

He definitely would have if he'd known that there would be a lecture about responsibility, discipline, and appropriate behavior afterwards.

"Do you understand?"

He was jolted back to reality by the cold voice. "…Hai."

"Would you like to repeat what I just said?"

"…Men must have responsibility. Discipline is important. Behavior in Hyotei should remain appropriate and polite at all times."

 _Hopefully he said something along the lines of that…_

"…Alright. You may now go, the ceremony should just be ending. Go straight to your classroom."

"Hn."

"Excuse me?"

"Hai," Ryoma corrected hastily, already halfway out the door.

Exiting, he let out a slow breath. At least he'd had enough time to grab his stuff before getting dragged off to this guy (whoever he was)'s office. Checking the floor map framed on the wall of the administrative building, he figured out slowly how to reach his class.

"Hm… no home room on the first day… then… my first class should be…"

 _Advanced Honors English_.

How boring. Yawning again, Ryoma entered the literature building and climbed up three flights of stairs, finally reaching his classroom. He was the first one there, so he chose a seat near the very back and decided to catch up on some sleep.

* * *

"…Um excuse me…"

Something was prodding his shoulder…

"Excuse me, wake up…"

Ryoma shifted, scowling in his sleep. This thing was really uncomfortable.

"Oi, wake up chibi. You're in the wrong class, and you need to get out of my seat. It's _mine_."

That woke him up. Blinking, he saw a pink-haired boy standing above him, hands on his hips in a rather feminine pose.

"…Who are you?"

"Mukahi Gakuto. Now can you get up? Class is about to start and I don't want sensei to be mad at me on the first day."

"…" Wordlessly, Ryoma stood up and left the classroom. He checked the sign on the door.

'English: Basics'

 _Oh._

He must have entered the wrong room. He walked up and down the hallway, checking the fancy golden plaques on the door until he finally found one that said 'English: Accelerated Honors'.

The moment he opened the door, the entire class froze and stared at him. Ryoma scowled. He wasn't an alien there for their entertainment or observation. Casually stepping in, he picked a random seat and sat down. Immediately, the entire class broke into whispers- who said that people in Hyotei were always polite?

Suddenly, a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Turning, he saw Choutarou. "Hey."

"Hi!" The boy smiled. "Are you in English honors as well?"

"Hn."

"That's great! We're in the same class! We almost never get new students, so class gets pretty dull if you ask me…"

"Oi Choutarou. You better tell the new kid to move before Atobe gets here." A boy with long brown hair hissed. Did everyone here look like a girl?

"S-Shishido-senpai…"

The door slammed open loudly, and a silver-haired boy strolled in arrogantly with an aura as strong as if he owned the place.

Ryoma didn't know what possessed him to say it, but before he could set up his filter, the words were already sliding out. "Oh look, the monkey king arrives."

Everyone gasped and froze, looking towards the boy to see what he would do.

He seemed to be trembling in anger- or were those tears?

"How dare you, you ignorant brat!" Ok, definitely not tears.

"…"

"Apologize immediately!"

"Hn."

"Are you even sorry?"

"Hai…"

"Respond properly, or did your parents not teach you how to talk?"

"I thought that was you."

Everyone gasped again. No one treated an _Atobe_ like that.

"Do you know who ore-sama is?"

"…Ore-sama?" Ryoma snorted. "How fitting of a monkey king."

"Why you-"

"Everyone, silence. Why is it so loud? Take your seats," the teacher ordered as she walked in. "Atobe-kun, why are you the only one standing up? Sit down, now. There's an empty seat on the other side of Choutarou-kun, why don't you occupy it?"

Atobe glared. "Excuse me, sensei, but-"

"I said take a seat!" She snapped, clearly irritated. "Seats were never assigned, so everyone is free to sit wherever they so wish. Please refrain from being this disruptive in class again."

The boy, Atobe, sat down, still grumbling slightly under his breath. Clearly he wasn't used to being scolded. Ryoma smirked. He liked the teacher already.

As the lesson began, Ryoma propped a large textbook in front of him. Halfway in, he became increasingly bored, feeling the tendrils of sleep pulling him down, down, down… into a deep… darkness…

"Echizen-kun. Echizen-kun, please read out paragraph five. Echizen-kun!"

Was someone calling him? And what paragraph five? What was he reading?

"Sensei, he's asleep," a loud voice called out. "Totally lame."

"Shishido-senpai, he can hear you!" Ah, that voice was definitely Choutarou…

"Oh no, is he going to be another Jirou?" That was Shishido again… Ryoma just couldn't force his eyes open.

"Another Jirou? No way, no one else absorbs information while not even paying attention like Jirou does. He's just a sponge. Echizen is a black hole." Ok, that was rude. It was probably that Atobe kid.

Ryoma forced his eyes open, waiting for the room to fall into a clearer focus. "Hai, what was your request again, sensei?"

"We are on page fifty-four. Please read out paragraph five and answer the questions about all the previous paragrahs."

"Hai." He groaned inwardly. "With her hands, she kneaded the dough, mixing in all of her mother's ingredients. After that, she…"

He finished reading and shut his textbook.

"Alright, now answer the questions. Start with one, and read out the question."

"Hai. Question one; what is the meaning of the word 'knead'? Well, knead means to-"

"Echizen-kun, would you like to write the answers on the board? Do not bring your book."

Ok, that woman was pure evil- he was taking back everything he'd every thought about liking her as a teacher. He'd have to just guess the answers to any questions requiring textual evidence…

"Question 1. What is the meaning of the word…"

After 10 minutes, he had filled the entire board with answers to the teacher's question. So none of them were actually based on the plot of the text. Thank goodness.

"Would you like to provide a summary of the story so far?"

Yes, she was definitely evil.

"…Not really, no."

Ignoring her surprised face, he took his seat once more, leaning his chin on his hand. It was definitely going to be a long day. Maybe he would be allowed to not wear his uniform if he talked to the principal?

* * *

 **A/N: Mhm I know that this is way shorter than my normal chapters, but this story is kind of a side-project (my main focus is still on 'This Small Town' and my other Royal fanfic that I have yet to post).**

 **Updating Schedule: once or twice a week**

 **Next Chapter: Nov. 12 OR Nov. 16**

 **R &R if you want to :) I will be busy from the 13** **th** **to the 15** **th** **, which is why if the chapter isn't posted by the twelfth, it won't be until the sixteenth. Although, I don't really have a life, so it might be posted quite early (like tomorrow? Depends.)**


	2. Sashimi (Raw Fish) and Octopus (Tako)

**A/N: Yay back with chapter 2. This fanfiction was pretty well received, so I guess I'm updating sooner than planned ;) Anyways, someone has to spread the Hyotei!Ryoma love :) Enjoy~**

* * *

Finally out of English, Ryoma strode down the hallway trying to find his next classroom.

 _Math…_

Geometry… Algebra 2… Calculus… Wait. Ryoma frowned. Where was the Pre-calculus classroom?

Of course. His math class was the only one that apparently had to be moved halfway across the already ridiculously large Hyotei campus, since apparently the room they were supposed to be in was under construction. _Of course_. How could he not have predicted that.

Sitting down, he took out a pen and a notebook, prepared to just fake his note-taking and sleep again.

"Echizen-san. Please take note of these concepts."

"I am, sensei." Hopefully he wouldn't come check- Ok he was coming to check. Ryoma hastily scribbled a few formulas and prayed that it would be enough.

"…Those are unsatisfactory notes, Echizen-san. I understand you are a new student to Hyotei, but you should by now be well aware of the standards."

"Hai…"

"I expect better notes when I walk by at the end of class."

"Hai…"

"Make up all the notes you missed to."

"Hey, no fair, you erased the board!" Ryoma protested.

"That's your problem. Rack your brain, use your memory. I'm _sure_ you were paying attention, right?" Without waiting for an answer, the teacher turned back around, walked to the front of the room, and continued with his lecture. Next to him, Ryoma saw a tall boy sitting stiffly in his seat, taking neat notes. His previous page of notes had already been ripped out and was sitting cleanly next to him. To ask, or not to ask…

"I hope you're taking good notes and paying attention, Echizen-san."

Definitely ask. "Pst. Hey. You," Ryoma whispered, glancing up to make sure the teacher hadn't heard anything.

"Usu."

"What? Anyways, nice to meet you I'm Echizen Ryoma now can I borrow your notes because the sensei is going to be mad if I don't have notes and the board was already erased a few minutes ago so yeah," He breathed in a long, whispering sentence.

"Usu."

"Really? Thanks."

"Usu."

Ryoma reached out and took the sheet of paper, quickly copying down all that the other boy had written. Glancing at the name near the top of the page, he noticed that the boy's name was Kabaji. He alternated between writing down what the teacher was saying now and what he needed to copy. After finishing, he slid the sheet of paper back under his neighbor's arm. "Thank you for letting me borrow your notes," he mumbled.

"Usu."

"Is that all you know how to say?"

"Usu."

"…" Ryoma sweatdropped.

"Echizen-san! Do not talk while I am talking!"

Crap, not again. This was definitely not a good day. "Hai, sensei…"

* * *

By the time math class was nearing its end, Ryoma was crumbling under the crushing homework load. "Who can do seven worksheets in one day in addition to all their other homework and still find time for extracurricular activities?" He complained under his breath, ignoring the painful cramps in his hand as he wrote frantically. The teacher spoke ridiculously fast, and his Japanese still wasn't perfected. Sometimes he missed words, so he just filled them in with random other words that sounded sort of similar to whatever the teacher had said.

"Alright. Those are the only concepts we will be reviewing today. Make sure you finish all of the worksheets for homework and bring them in tomorrow. I will post the answers outside of the classroom tomorrow morning so you guys can check them."

There was a chorus of 'hai's as the students all scooted their chairs back and prepared to leave the classroom.

"Oh, also! I forgot to assign your partners! You guys will be working together on a long term project regarding any deep mathematical study. Your options include discreet mathematics, systems, number theory, and a few others that I will post outside my classroom after lunch today. Because we don't have time for you guys to do the partner picking activity, you can just work with the person to your right. Make sure you don't know the person, because I will most definitely check!"

"Hai…" Ryoma mumbled as he slid his notebook with his very crappy notes back into the front pocket of his backpack. The teacher really was evil- telling him to write all those notes and then "running out of time" to check them…

The rest of his classes went rather uneventfully, before it was lunch. Stringing his backpack over his shoulders, Ryoma decided that he would just follow the crowd- after all, it was impossible to get lost trying to find the cafeteria, right?

 _Beep_. Oh, a public announcement. "Attention all Hyotei students. Club signups will begin around lunch time today, and in order to give you all adequate exploration time, classes will be delayed by an hour. In order to continue in club activites, you must maintain grades above a B in all classes. I repeat- grades above B in _all_ classes. Furthermore, all club signups will close by 3 in the afternoon on Friday. All forms must be turned in before then. Thank you."

The intercom beeped again before falling silent.

Ryoma grinned. Club activities, huh? The tennis team better be ready.

* * *

Ok, this was definitely not what he expected.

A long line of people to join? Alright, he kind of saw that one coming.

The sign up papers blowing away in the wind? Check. At least he had picked one up before some clutz had knocked the entire stack over.

A horde of _girls_ jumping, screaming, and just in general being absolutely obnoxious? Totally not check. Ryoma just couldn't understand why they were crowding around the tennis courts. It wasn't as if any of them were going to _play_ , right? Hyotei didn't have a girl's tennis team.

He changed into the extra small Hyotei sports uniform he had been given. Blue and white- technically Seigaku colors as well.

Stepping onto the court, he began stretching slowly, not wanting to pull a muscle.

"Oi, brat, you're in the way. Move."

Before Ryoma could turn around, he heard: "Atobe, leave the poor kid alone, he's obviously just a first year. Come on, we need to start the tryouts for regular positions."

At this, Ryoma scowled. "And is there any reason that first years are in any way less qualified then older students?" He turned around.

" _You!_ " Atobe exclaimed, looking furious. "How dare you show up on ore-sama's courts, you insolent-"

"Atobe." A navy-blue haired boy was shifting impatiently. "I believe we are making a scene."

Atobe took a deep breath to compose himself before calling out, "Welcome to the Hyotei tennis club. As today is the first day, we will be holding matches. As many of you may be aware, competition here is fierce- at Hyotei we only accept the best of the best. Over the first week, we will be conducting a series of practice matches to determine who deserves regular positions. Everyone, pick a partner now."

Ryoma heard all sorts of whispers around him; _"Matches the first week?"_ and " _Wow, this is serious!_ " He snorted. If they weren't serious, why did they even bother to join in the first place?

"This is great, I love doubles!" A boy next to him yelled in excitement.

Wait. Doubles?

Well, Atobe had said to pick a partner… Ryoma groaned. He _despised_ doubles matches. Looking around, he saw that everyone already seemed to be partnering up with their best friends. Well then. There were also a group of boys wearing different Hyotei jackets that were just standing off to the side. Well, no other option.

"Hey." He decided to ask a pink haired boy. "Do you have a partner?"

The boy looked at him rather disdainfully. "Partner? Don't tell me you're offering." He smirked, turning to the dark haired guy with ovular glasses next to him. "Do you think Atobe would mind?"

"I doubt he would be too happy, but given the circumstances," he looked down at Ryoma. "I don't think he would care."

"Alright, let's be partners then." The boy's smirk widened. "Do you remember me?"

"…who are you?"

"He doesn't remember me!" the boy wailed. "How could he, Yuushi?"

"…"

"Yuushi, what should I-"

"Oh. You." Ryoma blinked.

"Ha, you remember now, right?" The boy looked triumphant.

"…No, I just thought your voice was kind of annoying."

"Why you little- "

"Mukahi. What are you doing? Taki does not have a partner. You know very well that regulars are _not_ permitted to play until the later rounds." Oh no. It was the blonde man from earlier. The teacher. What was his name again? Sataki? Satami? ….Sashimi?

A snicker brought him out of his thoughts. "Sashimi? As in raw fish? Ahahahaha!"

"Shishido, silence. Apologies, Echizen. You seem to have forgotten my name from earlier this morning. I am Sataki, the _coach_ of the Hyotei tennis team."

 _Oh crap._

"…Hn." Ryoma didn't really know how to respond, and there wasn't really any point in trying to cover up his blunder from before.

"Partner up with Taki over there and await further instructions from Atobe."

 _Who is this Atobe, and why does he get so much power?_

Nonetheless, Ryoma walked over slowly and waited next to Taki, giving the other boy a rather dismissive look.

"Alright, we will be playing _singles_ matches the entire day. Find a court, play your match, and report the scores to me. The winner moves onto their next match, and the loser will watch any ongoing games. Do not think to cheat, as ore-sama will be walking around along with the rest of the current Hyotei regulars. Furthermore, losers may be asked to referee for future games. That is all. Go." He made a languid dismissive gesture with his pale hand, looking utterly uninterested.

Ryoma only had one thought running through his head: _Thank god it's singles._

* * *

"Game, Echizen, three games to love!" The other first year student called out. "Taki to serve."

"Hey Atobe, that first year over there isn't bad! He's beating Taki," Gakuto pointed out, eyebrows slightly raised in surprise.

"Ahn?" Atobe turned his head to observe the current game. "Hmph. Ore-sama supposes he is almost half-decent."

"Admit it, Atobe, you're impressed," Shishido sniggered.

Ryoma, meanwhile, was _not_ impressed. What was the boy's name again? Tako (A/N: _means octopus in Japanese_ )? He'd heard rumors of this boy being the best player (asides from the regulars) last year, but so far, this octopus was not living up to his reputation. Ryoma himself hadn't even broken a sweat, and yet the other boy was already panting, barely able to catch his breath. "Che, mada mada dane," he smirked. He didn't even have to use the twist serve.

"He's not that great," Oishitari murmured. "Average serve, half-decent speed, minimal power… Overall just rather _ordinary_."

The unspoken weight of his words hung in the air; this boy was not good enough to be a regular.

Atobe scoffed. "Hyotei regular teams do not accept anyone _ordinary_. Ore-sama is looking for _extraordinary_."

"Game and match. Echizen, six games to love."

Ryoma yawned. So much for a good work out.

He walked casually up to the net and wordlessly stuck his hand out.

"G-good game," Taki stammered, still trying to catch his breath.

"… Mada mada dane."

And with that, Ryoma left a rather stunned boy behind him still clutching at the net to steady hiself.

* * *

The rest of his games were worse. Ryoma was thoroughly rather disappointed in Hyotei's tennis team- had they really made it to nationals last year? They were _awful_. Ok, not _that_ bad- just… rather… average.

Stretching, he marched monotonously up to the table. "Six games to zero. Echizen Ryoma."

The other two boys nodded before typing it into the fancy digital screen behind them. So there _were_ actually a few good uses for Hyotei's ridiculous resources.

"Hm, not bad. Perfect record so far, hasn't dropped a game." Oishitari mumbled a few more things to himself as he studied the screen. "Interesting, interesting, should be interesting this year…"

"Oishitari. Are you done? Regulars will be joining in for the final round today." Atobe walked up behind the tensai's shoulders. "Anyone interesting?"

"Hm. Skilled? Not particularly. Interesting, however? Certainly."

"So it seems." Atobe frowned as he watched the dark-haired boy practice a few racquet swings. There was something off about him that Atobe had yet to place. It was as if they were missing something right in front of their noses.

"Alright, who should he play?"

Atobe turned his attention back to Oishitari. "Hiyoshi or Mukahi, either one will be interesting."

Oishitari's glasses glinted in the afternoon sunlight. "Mukahi then. This will certainly be entertaining. He has an air of arrogance around him. It would be such a shame for it to be crushed."

Atobe elegantly arched an eyebrow. "How sadistic of you… been spending time around Fuji from Seigaku recently?"

"Not any more than I used to. Although we did have coffee one day after meeting in a book store."

"Your personal life aside, you seem to hold your doubles partner in quite a high regard."

"Of course. Mukahi will defeat him."

"Hm."

At that, Oishitari turned to Atobe. "You can't possibly think that he'll defeat Mukahi."

Atobe merely laughed and walked off to find shade, citing statistics pertaining to the relationship between increased sun exposure and decreased skin health.

* * *

The matches began, and it was obvious that the disparity between regulars and non-regulars was simply too big. Shishido and Choutarou both won without dropping any games. Oishitari and Atobe didn't bother playing. Kabaji won with a score of 6-1. Jirou was so bored he fell asleep in the middle of the game and had to be taken off of the court- they still counted it as his victory considering he had already reached 5 games and his opponent was about to pass out. Hiyoshi didn't have any games either so he sat on the sidelines of an empty, unused court to meditate.

The only regular who was still busy was Mukahi. And he was _very_ busy. Because the entirety of Hyotei may have underestimated a certain short first year named Echizen Ryoma.

The beginning of the game had gone normally enough, with Mukahi easily taking the first game- Ryoma had been watching things form the spin he put on his shots to the exact power of his jumps. After a careful analysis, he decided that the pink haired boy's flexibility was the main problem. He would have to seal it somehow.

In the start of the second game, it was Ryoma's serve. All the other games had already ended (although, to be fair, Ryoma's match had started late because Mukahi had to use the restroom), so everyone was watching them. He could clearly hear the whispers about him; "As predicted, Mukahi-senpai is gonna win again… The different between the regulars and non-regulars is just too great for us to overcome with only this amount of training… this is tough…"

Ryoma scowled darkly. If they thought this pink haired…. _Animal_ in front of him was going to win easily without a fight, they were dead wrong. He smirked. No harm in giving them a little scare. He tossed the ball into the air, letting his instincts take over for awhile as he jumped, hitting a perfect twist serve.

Atobe's eyes immediately narrowed. "Twist serve, ahn? Ore-sama knew he was hiding something."

Oishitari's attention spiked as well. "Sharp angle, good power, ideal pinpoint of location… this is a difficult serve."

Unprepared, Mukahi's flexibility and reflexes barely managed to save him as the ball whisked straight through the spot his face was in mere seconds ago. He stared after its trail in wonder.

Ryoma smirked, and pointed his racquet at Mukahi. "If I win, I will be the one wearing that jacket you have on now."

Mukahi scowled. "How dare you? If I win, you will quit the tennis club," he snapped.

Ryoma's smirk widened. "Gladly."

Mukahi glared. "Good."

Ryoma's lips twitched into a cocky grin. "In fact, I'll finish this in less than half an hour."

"Likewise. Challenge accepted.

Everyone was whispering about how the math was "getting serious". Ryoma scored three more times with his twist serve, evening out the score. But it was obvious that Mukahi was not a regular for nothing- he was already getting used to the speed, and his jumps were automatically adapting to it.

"1 game all, Mukahi to serve!"

They rallied back and forth before Ryoma scored again off of a random, unexpected drop shot that landing right before the net.

"Hm. Impressive mental strength… to be able to pull of a drop volley at this point in the game…" Oishitari murmured to Atobe. "And could you _not_ keep moving over? You already have this entire side of the tennis court to yourself, what more do you need? At least you aren't being disturbed by fan girls like the rest of us!" Just as those words fell from Oishitari's mouth, a girl's wide hair ribbon blew past and whipped the Hyotei tensai in the face. "Point given." He sighed.

And then suddenly, everyone was whispering and the scoreboard was already changing.

"Atobe, what just happened?"

"Ore-sama was planning his next business dinner."

"…"

"Oishitari-senpai, did you see that?"

"Choutarou? Where's Shishido? And no, I didn't see it. What happened?"

"That boy countered one of Mukahi senpai's special shots! He used some weird split step too."

"One-footed split step," Atobe injected.

"Huh, not bad. I was saving that for Nationals." Ryoma smirked at everyone else's shocked expression. They were in for an even larger surprise.

* * *

 **A/N: So another short-ish chapter, I know, but I wanted it to be updated before the twelfth… Do you guys prefer longer but less frequent chapters, or this length but more frequent? I will probably do a combination of both. R &R if you want :) Thanks to all you who reviewed, read, followed, or favorite! If you did any of those… you are a good person :D **

**The next chapter is super entertaining but it's not finished blergh. Anyways…**

 **Ja ne**

 **~Vieux**


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